The Super Mario Brothers Join the Care Bears
by WogglebugLoveProductions
Summary: Princess Peach is kidnapped by No-Heart. So now Mario and Luigi join with the Care Bears to rescue her her, and also Care-A-Lot and the Mushroom Kingdom.
1. Chapter 1

Princess Peach was running hand in hand with her dear friend Mario on the grassy green lawn of her castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. They had just had a grand day together and had eaten their picnic lunch and now they sat down and rested upon the soft bank of the Mushroom River and watched the fish swimming within it.

"Come here fishy," Mario looked into the water and spoke in his boyish Italian accented voice. "Here fishy!"

The princess giggled. She gazed into the deep blue sky with its puffy white clouds which glistened in the sunshine. "It's a really beautiful day today," she said contentedly.

"It is... although not as beautiful as you are," Mario said, looking upon the princess with loving eyes. He moved closer beside her and thus caught the scent of her freshly washed blonde hair. "Ahh... you smell like peaches with cream... I love peaches and cream."

"Thank you," she said with a smile, "and you smell like warm pasta and sauce... I like it, I really do."

"Thank you very much," Mario said, smiling sweetly.

He inched just a bit closer to her then and gazed deeply into her soft rosy-cheeked face and blue eyes which seemed to refine the color blue and her full red lips and he then felt the sudden wish to kiss her. He inched closer to her... slowly... slowly... and then...

He gasped and looked up suddenly as the sky above them had become completely dark without warning and now they saw dark gray clouds rolling billowing in the wind which had suddenly become cool and gusty and he also heard thunder and saw a bolt of lightning flash across the sky. For a moment he thought it was the sign of an oncoming storm, but then he saw something much worse, he saw the dark gray clouds start to swirl together and take on the form a ferocious looking dark gray beast which seemed like a cross between a rhinoceros and a horse as it stood solidly on the clouds while upon its large back was the specter of a terrifying person clothed in black robes with a long hood concealing his face.

The fearsome figure dismounted its steed and stood towering above them and appeared to concentrating its narrow and menacingly glowing red eyes on the princess and it reached out with long, greenish, bony hands coming out of the sleeves of its robes and as it seemed to be pointing them in their direction red sparks shot out of the fingertips and the wind became threateningly violent and a swirling vortex formed which began to pull at the princess who clung desperately onto Mario.

"Mario! Save me!" cried the princess as the wind caught her in a numbing cold grip and pulled her forward violently.

"Hold on!" exclaimed Mario as he clutched onto her wrists with all his strength.

The wind became worse and worse and pulled harder and harder on the poor princess. Mario remained firm in his grip but he suddenly lost his hold on her left hand and then a sudden blast of wind knocked him backwards and her hand was wrenched away from his.

"Mario! Mario! Help!" the princess screamed as she was being helplessly sucked in to the swirling vortex.

Mario watched in horror as the princess was consumed by the vortex and disappeared into the sky. The evil sorcerer in the clouds spread his arms out and cackled vilely. "Now the princess is gone, and this time you will never be able to rescue her, Mario!" he thundered maliciously and then vanished in a blast of light and smoke.

Mario looked around and found himself totally alone and surrounded in darkness with the dark sorcerer's words echoing through his mind and he suddenly felt something he had never really felt before. He felt afraid.

"NO!"

"Mario, wake up! You are dreaming, bro!"

Mario felt himself being shaken awake by his younger brother, Luigi. He gasped as he sat up panting rapidly with his eyes wide open. "Luigi! The princess is in danger!"

Luigi smiled sympathetically. "You were dreaming again," he said. "The princess is fine, you're just worried and anxious about when she'll be kidnapped again. Now clean yourself up and I'll be downstairs cooking breakfast."

As Luigi left Mario continued staring wide-eyed as he looked around his room. Everything was perfectly normal and all his familiar surroundings were in their places. He uncovered himself and got out of his bed and looked at the pictures on the left side of his nightstand. The first one was of he and his brother when they had been young children and the second one close beside it was of them together with the princess in front of her castle, this one was from a few years ago as Mario was round and plump in it and now he was just stocky.

He sighed as he shook his head and put a hand to his forehead. Right now it really did seem like it had been just a dream like Luigi said, and yet somehow he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something really was wrong. The image of the evil sorcerer and how he had snatched the princess and pulled her out his grasp was very vivid in his mind's eye.

He hoped the terrifying images of the dream would wear off as the day wore on as he stepped the shower and washed himself and tried to soothe his troubled mind. He then went to his closet and saw his multiple choices of red or blue shirts and red or blue overalls and he soon chose the red shirt with blue overalls.

When he went downstairs he found Luigi setting the table with a glass of milk for each of them and plates of spaghetti and meatballs with extra garlic sauce. He sat down and began eating and tried to talk to his brother.

"Luigi, you're right. I did a have a bad dream... but it was so real!"

Luigi swallowed and said "Well, we know the princess is almost always getting kidnapped. We've got the Donkey Kong, we've got the Koopas, we've got the Bowsers. It happens so much it's crazy ridiculous! But it keeps us busy."

"This one was different," Mario went one, becoming serious. "It seemed I was actually with her and she was with me, I could see and hear her and I almost kissed her when everything went all dark like it was gonna storm and then... then this dark evil figure wears black robes and a hood appeared in the clouds riding a monstrous beast... he had red eyes which glowed in the dark and seemed to be looking right through me and... I was... afraid."

Mario looked at his brother's reaction. Luigi was staring at him with his eyes wide and unblinking. "Go on," he said, deeply interested.

"Then he made the wind grow strong and fierce and it pulled the princess right up to him. I tried to hold onto her but I couldn't, and then he told me she was gone and I couldn't do anything this time."

For a few moments there was silence as Luigi looked thoughtful and Mario looked reflective. Then Luigi reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke to him with sympathy, understanding, and concern. "We must remember that dreams are not real and cannot hurt us, and when the princess is in any trouble we will always be here to save her."

Mario nodded and tried to smile. Then they ate up their breakfast, brushed their teeth, and left to visit with the princess.

At the castle, Mario and Luigi had a picnic with Princess Peach and then they played games and had such a good time together Mario forgot about his nightmare, at least until the afternoon came and he and Peach sat down by the river bank watching the fish and enjoying each other's company.

Mario sat closer to her and caught the scent of her hair. "Ahh... you smell like peaches with cream," he said.

"Thank you," she smiled, "and you smell like warm pasta and sauce... and I like it, I really do."

He smiled warmly and felt somehow they had said these to each other before. He sat closer to her slowly, and closer... and closer... until their lips were an inch apart... and then he suddenly had a feeling of dread welling up inside him and he turned his gaze up and looked at the deep blue sky with its white baby clouds which were lit by the sun. He couldn't seem to find anything wrong with it and felt a tremendous sense of relief.

"Look at that cloud up there," said the princess looking up with him. "It looks like Yoshi."

"And the one up there looks like a horse," he said. "No, it looks more like a..."

Then he gasped in horror at the sight before him. The blue sky altered to dark gray and a rhinoceros like beast appeared from the clouds with a tall, dark robed, hooded figure with glowing red eyes riding upon it.

Mario's nightmare instantly returned to him completely and he held the princess tightly in his arms. "Hold onto me, Peach," he said.

"Mario, what is happening?" asked the princess fearfully.

The evil sorcerer reached out and conjured a swirling dark vortex out of the blustery wind and began pulling the princess towards it.

"Peach, hold onto me! I can't lose you!" he exclaimed above the howling wind as the princess's feet were lifted off of the ground and she was pulled forward against her will.

"Mario, save me!" Peach screamed as she clung desperately onto him.

Mario held onto her, and he heard a voice which seemed to come from nowhere, it said _let go, Mario, you know it's no use!_ But he still held on tight. Then he suddenly felt himself being knocked backwards with a mysterious force and it caused him to release his hold on the princess.

He sat on the ground and watched in helpless horror as the princess was sucked into the vortex and vanished. Above him the evil sorcerer closed the vortex as he cackled with malicious pleasure and said "Now the princess is gone and you will never be able to save her this time, Mario!" before vanishing in a blast of light and dark smoke.

With the evil wizard's departure the wind calmed and the clouds dispersed and the sky became clear and blue again and Mario was left in a state of complete shock.

"Mario! Peach!" Luigi called out as he came running up to his petrified brother. "Mama mia, what just happened!"

"Well, you saw everything," Mario said as he stood up not quite recovered yet. "Now do you believe me?"

"I do, and I'm sorry," said Luigi, his voice filled with regret and sorrow.

Mario looked at Luigi and felt angry, not at him, but at what had just happened for he had no idea of who the evil sorcerer was or what he had done with Peach and where she was now and what he had to do to save her.

Just then Luigi pointed towards the sky and exclaimed "Mario look up there! What's coming at us?"

Mario looked up and saw what appeared to be two clouds floating out of the sky and zooming towards them, as they came closer he began to see there were about three fuzzy creatures riding in each one and when they came within reach he saw they looked a lot like teddy bears with symbols on their tummies.

The two cloudcars landed abruptly in front of them and the colorful bear like creatures all jumped out of them and reddish-brown one who seemed to be their leader approached Mario and said "Greetings, we are the Care Bears and you must be Mario and Luigi."

"Why, yes, we are. How did you know?" Mario asked in surprise.

"We've heard all about you," replied the Care Bear leader, "and Princess Peach and how you've always rescued her from danger, and now that No-Heart has kidnapped her things will be much more difficult."

"No-Heart? Is that the name of the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess?" asked Mario.

"You know him?" asked Luigi.

"We do. He is a heartless dark lord who wants to rid the world of caring and has been an enemy to us for many years, and now he has become an enemy to you two, too. You see, we knew about his kidnapping of the princess and what he intends to do to her, but you are the only ones who can save her and we cannot tell where she is exactly, all we can do is send you to where you need to go first on your journey of rescuing her from the darkest place of all."

"Then please do," said Mario, ready for adventure. "I've saved the princess many, many times and no dark lord is going to stand in my way! I can take on any challenge he gives me! I can jump across any obstacle he throws in my way!"

"It's all very well for you to say so," said the Care Bear with precaution. "But you see, No-Heart is not like any other enemy you've ever had to face before and he will be the baddest of all. His obstacles and challenges go beyond the physical realm, he preys on your thoughts and your feelings themselves and it will take much more than jumping, climbing, and dodging to escape him. You will need to use... yourself."

"What do you mean?" asked Mario. "How can I use myself against No-Heart?"

"Well, first you will need this," said the Care Bear, and the red heart on his tummy began to glow and it made a duplicate of itself and floated freely in the air towards Mario and it landed on his chest where it seemed to become one with him.

"This will be your symbol that represents you," the Care Bear continued. "You will use it just we do in times of great need and stare with it."

"Stare with it?" asked Mario wonderingly.

"You see, No-Heart has no heart at all but we do and so do you and when you face him your must be filled with light and you must not think any bad thoughts for those are what will make him stronger and harder to defeat. To make your heart glow you mustn't show fear or anger you must show love. Just think about the love you have for your brother and the love you have for the princess and turn it onto him."

"I see," said Mario. He tried it and at once it made his heart light up.

"There you see," said the Care Bear, "and if any darkness, doubts, or fears should enter you your heart's light will dim and weaken and can even go out completely."

"What about Luigi?" asked Mario. "I couldn't possibly take on this adventure without my best buddy and brother."

The Care Bear smiled. "Of course not. We'd never forget him," and the heart on his tummy glowed once again and duplicated and floated to Luigi and landed itself onto his chest where it turned green while Mario's had remained red.

"Now, remember," the Care Bear continued, "when you both put your hearts together your stares are twice as strong, and you can also easily light and dark energy between each other so be careful."

"We will be," promised Mario. "Let's go!"


	2. Chapter 2

Mario and Luigi sat in the Care Bears' cloudcar as they drove them through the sky. At first they had been surrounded by all white clouds but then they gave way to dark gray kind and as they looked down they could see how the landscape changed as well from the lush vallies of the Mushroom Kingdom to dense dark forests to a long expansive wasteland.

As the time went by Mario calmed down from the shock he'd had of seeing Princess Peach snatched by the evil wizard No-Heart in his nightmare come true and he began to wonder what No-Heart could possibly throw in his way of rescuing her when it seemed like all the other villains he'd rescued the princess from had thrown everything possible at him.

"Like I'd said, No-Heart isn't gonna be like anything you've ever faced before," said Tender-Heart Bear, almost as if sensing his thoughts. "With him there comes the true danger of losing yourself."

"How can you lose yourself?" asked Mario curiously.

"You must go through the Swamps of Sadness, the Desert of Shattered Hopes, the Forest of Misfortune, and the Valley of Deep Despair, and if you give in to them there will be no way out," said the Care Bear solemnly.

Mario was silent. As the leading Care Bear drove the cloudmobile downward. Very far off in the distance he could see a very small spectacle of a dark castle which he assumed must be No-Heart's. Then the castle disappeared behind tall mountains and thick trees as they landed far away from it.

They were now in a desolate wasteland and as they disembarked their feet made a squishy noise as they stood on the muddy ground.

"So, this is where we begin?" asked Luigi.

"Mario, do you want to rescue the princess?" asked Tender-Heart.

"Of course," said Mario promptly.

"Easy answer," returned the Care Bear figuratively. "Put some thought behind it, the thoughts will connect you to the princess and she'll receive you better. You see, No-Heart has her under a spell and when you find her she might not recognize you but if you love her as she loves you you will reach through to her. As you go through your journey think of her and the times you've had with each other. Remember your past journeys to rescue her and why you fell in love with her. Remember, should you need us for any reason at all you just call and we will come."

"Thank you very much, Care Bears," said Mario.

Then they watched as the Care Bears got into their cloudcars and flew off into the sky again.

Mario noticed they were standing in a mushy, muddy swamp and he saw dozens of rocks scattered around them and instantly he got an idea.

"Come, Luigi," he called to his brother. "Let's cross the swamp playing hop scotch on these rocks."

So they hopped onto the closest rocks they saw and continued hopping from one to another as went further into the swamp.

Mario thought about what the Care Bears had said about thinking of Peach and why he wanted to rescue her. If his memories had to reach out to her then he decided to start at the beginning and he thought of when he and Luigi had rescued her for the very first time and when they had first found their way into the Mushroom Kingdom.

_Mario and Luigi were wading through the murky waters of the underground sewers of Brooklyn on a call to investigate for alligators after reports of sightings in the city. So far they found nothing but a few rats, some leeches here and there, and lots and lots of sludge._

"_Aw, Mario, we haven't found any gators all day!" Luigi was complaining. "Can't we go back up now? It must be past lunchtime now."_

"_A plumber's gotta do what a plumber's gotta do, Luigi," Mario called over his shoulder. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure, eh?"_

"_I left it above Brooklyn," Luigi replied dryly._

_Mario chuckled as they trudged on. He was never one to give up on something, though he wasn't sure why he had asked Luigi where his sense of adventure was but he just had an unexplainable feeling in his gut that he was destined to come down here for some reason and there was an unknown purpose moving him towards it._

_Shortly afterward they heard something from ahead of them and turning towards it they saw a creature their size which looked like cross between a turtle and an alligator. They watched it drop down from one of the pipes around them. It had sharp teeth, horns, and claws, a long spiky tail and a spiked shell on its back._

"_Wh-what is that... creature?" asked Luigi fearfully._

"_I don't know, little brother," said Mario._

_Just then, more of the creatures began dropping out from the pipes and made to attack them. Mario and Luigi were seemingly defenseless against these monsters, but Mario knew he had to do something and so he did the only thing he could think of, he jumped._

_He jumped and came down on the first one's head and flipped it over, kicking it in the middle. Luigi quickly joined and the brothers were able dispatch the monster reptiles using this technique._

_When they finished off the the last of them, they ventured deeper into the sewer system to find the source of the monsters and get rid of them. Then when they had seemingly gone as deep as they could, Mario heard it._

"_Help me!" a young female voice called from nowhere._

_Mario gasped and looked around. "Luigi, did you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?" asked brother._

"_Listen," he said. _

_Then he heard it again. "Help me! Help me!"_

"_It's coming from down here!" Mario hurried in the direction the cry for help was leading him with Luigi following him._

"_Help me! Help!" The voice was so soft, so desperate, so sweet, and he followed until he reached a big green pipe laying at the edge of the sewer. The voice was heard to be coming directly from within it._

"_You're right," said Luigi. "Now what do we do?"_

"_We go in and finds out who needs us," Mario replied briskly as he knelt down and crawled into the pipe._

"_Hey! Wait for me!" Luigi exclaimed, following his big brother._

_They crawled through the long pipe which seemed to grow larger the further they went and then they saw a light far ahead of them and hurried towards it. Larger and larger the hole before them grew and they ran ahead and then suddenly found themselves tumbling out of the pipe and into a strange new world._

_Observing their surroundings they rows of bright flowers and big polka-dot mushrooms spread out in every direction and high above them they saw brick platforms and clusters of metal boxes hanging mysteriously suspended from the sky._

"_Mario," said Luigi. "I've a feeling we ain't in Brooklyn no more."_

_Then suddenly one of the mushrooms seemed to pick itself up with arms and legs growing out of it and a small head peeked out from underneath the large mushroom cap. It ran towards them exclaiming "You've come! You've come! Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom! I am Toadworth, the King's Royal Retainer. Come with me to the Palace."_

_So they followed the three-foot tall mushroom-like being to the palace where the King explained to them about the prophesy of two heros who were born in the Mushroom Kingdom and raised outside of it would return to save the Royal family and then he told them about his daughter, Princess Peach, had just been kidnapped by the wicked King Bowser of the Koopas._

"Mario!" Luigi's voice broke him from his memory track. "There are no more rocks!"

Mario looked around and could see no more rocks ahead for them to jump on, there was nothing but a mushy swamp as far as they could see before them.

With a sigh of resignation he stepped off of the rock he was on and into the mushy, murky swamp. His shoes sunk in halfway and made a sloshing sound.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Luigi and they trudged along.

"I was remembering when we first rescued Peach. You remember, don't you, bro?"

"Oh yeah!" said Luigi. "It's good to remember."

_Mario and Luigi had just reached Bowser's castle after a long and arduous journey. High above them they saw a glowing blue and white star._

"_Well, we've made it this far, my brother," said Mario, focusing all his attention on the star. "Now all I have to do is jump up there and capture the starman and become Super Mario!"_

_Luigi looked up at the distance between them and the star. "Isn't it kinda far to reach?"_

"_Not when there is the two of us!" Mario declared. He took hold of his brother's hand and counted "One, two, three!" and together they made a tremendous jump and landed onto a stone terrace of the castle far above the ground._

"_Wahoo!" Mario yelled in ecstasy as they made another long jump upward and he caught the powerful starman and instantly felt the power of invincibility flow through him and giving him the strength of ten Marios._

_With Luigi close beside him he leapt through a window of Bowser's castle and fought off many koopa troopas on each level as they raced towards the dungeon where the princess was being held captive. Then finally on the last level they encounter none other than King Bowser himself. He looked just like the monsters they had met with in the sewers and he was three times bigger. _

"_Well, you may have outmatched my troops, but you will never outmatch me!" he said snarling._

"_Why do you hold the princess a prisoner for? asked Mario. "What did she ever do to you?"_

"_I just want her at my side so we can rule the Mushroom Kingdom together," replied Bowser. "We will rule all of the toadstools and goombas. We will rule the sea surrounding it with my laser sharks. My koopas will command all of the shy guys and glum reapers who will otherwise be at my mercy."_

"_Mamma mia! You are a wicked, evil, conniving monster!"_

"_Well, I appreciate your compliment," said Bowser. "Now if you have any last words-"_

"_Hah-yah!" _

_The final battle began between Bowser and Mario. Bowser was considerably bigger than Mario but the starman had made him equally as strong and swift. He dodged Bowser's blows one after the other and threw him off over and over and just as it became evident that Bowser was going to get rough Mario caught him by the tail, spun him around till he was dizzy, and threw him out of the window._

"_Whew! I'm glad that is over with!" exclaimed Mario as he wiped his brow._

"_Now all we have to do is free the princess!" said Luigi._

"_Right you are, let's go!" exclaimed Mario._

_They quickly found the door to the dungeon and pulled the lever on the side of the strong iron door and it slid down and they stepped inside._

_Then he instantly set his eyes on whom he knew must be the princess Peach. She looked very young, probably only sixteen or seventeen. She wore a long pink satin dress and a gold locket on a chain around her neck. She had long blonde hair that grew past her shoulders, and he focused mainly on her face with its soft peach-tinted skin and light red lips and bright blue eyes like his own. His heart felt warmed when he realized he thought she was the most beautiful and charming girl he had ever seen._

"_Hello, princess," he said removing his red hat. "I am Mario and this is my brother, Luigi. We hope you are alright."_

"_I am now that you two are here," replied the princess. ""You must be the heros of legend who've come from the world outside to defeat Bowser. Is he really gone?"_

"_He will not be bothering you any time soon," Mario assured her smiling. "It wasn't easy, but believe me, I am glad to have saved you."_

_The princess smiled as she approached them. "Thank you. I give to you my gratitude," she said, and gave him a gentle kiss on his right cheek._

_He smiled and blushed with pleasure as he felt her sweet kiss and he knew that from this moment on he would dedicate his life to the princess and would always be there for her when she was trouble._


	3. Chapter 3

Mario and Luigi continued to tread through the swamp for what seemed like a long time. Mario began to feel bored and so he tried singing a little tune. "Me and you, a two man crew. Side by side were unified," but the farther they went the feeling turned into something more deplorable. He began to feel that he was very unhappy and then suddenly he felt like something inside of him had just dropped out from under him and deep sense of melancholy came over him. His sweet memories of Princess Peach faded out of his mind's eye and were replaced with the saddest memory he possessed. The memory of his papa's death.

_Seventeen-year old Mario knelt by his papa's deathbed clutching his hand. He listened with tears in his eyes as he spoke his last words to him and his fifteen-year old brother._

"_I've... never told you... how proud I am of you... always looking out for each other... and always doing your chores well... you've both been very good boys... Now, promise me you will take care of yourselves."_

"_I promise," said Mario tearfully._

"_I promise," said Luigi._

_Papa smiled and then closed his eyes peacefully._

"_Oh, papa!" Mario put his head down upon the bed and sobbed his grieving heart out. He felt Luigi's hand close around his own and he could feel that he was crying, too and he clutched onto his hand tightly and soon embraced him._

He looked down and saw that the mud of the swamp now was now a little above his shoes. He felt so very empty and lonely and just as he had on the saddest day of his life he reached out to grasp his brother's hand, except it wasn't there. He turned around and saw Luigi standing a few paces behind him. His face had a very glum expression.

"Luigi, what is wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I don't know," replied Luigi in a very melancholy voice. "I just feel like we should give up. There is no sense in going on. The princess was kidnapped by an evil wizard who is probably too powerful for us to handle and we don't even know where he has the princess and we might not be able to save her this time. I think we should just give up now."

Mario was astonished. "Luigi," he said. "This doesn't sound like you at all. What is wrong? Are you sick, or something?"

"Maybe I am," said Luigi sadly. "It's just the more we walk the sadder I feel. I think I've lost all hope and my heart feels so heavy. I can't go on!"

"But we must go on!" cried Mario. "You mustn't let go of yourself. Come, take my hand and pull yourself out or you'll sink." He pulled at Luigi's hand but he wouldn't budge and he saw him sink slightly deeper into the mucky waters. Mario now looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Luigi, please," he begged. "You're letting the sadness of the swamp get into you, that is why you're sinking. You have to try to get through. Remember when our papa died and we decided to leave home and go to America? Remember the talk we had on the day before?"

_Mario stepped outside and found Luigi sitting underneath the birch tree absently middling a bit of wood with a carving knife. He came over and sat down beside him._

_After a moment he asked "Why don't you want to go to America with me?"_

_Luigi sighed as he looked down and put down his knife and wood. "I just feel as if I'd be leaving our papa behind."_

"_Oh no, I could never leave Papa!" said Mario. "I loved him, but he is gone, and now we have a choice. Either life goes on, or it doesn't."_

"_But why do you want to leave home? It's the only one we've ever known."_

"_Well, exactly," said Mario. "I mean, every day around here it is always the same and I believe my destiny is somewhere more life fulfilling, and where better than America, the land opportunity."_

"_But America is also a very dangerous place to live," Luigi said pessimistically. "I've heard there's always guys in it who are stealing stuff and causing riots, everyone there is just out for themselves, no?"_

_Mario sat in thought for a moment and then replied "Well I suppose it may be like that, sometimes, but I've always thought that life is just what you make of it, and anyways I'd promised Papa I'd take care of myself and a long time ago I also promised I'd take care of you, too, that is if you'll come with me. Will you?"_

_Luigi sat in silence for a moment and then slowly reached over and grasped Mario's hand, and looking at him he asked "Are you sure we'll be alright?"_

_Mario nodded and said "We'll find a home for both of us in a city like Brooklyn, and we'll get ourselves jobs that will bring adventure to our lives!"_

The memory seemed to give Luigi strength as he then held Mario's hand and together they trudged through the swamps. Each step they took was a struggle to make another move. The dreadful mud seemed to be leaking into their shoes the further they went and made their feet cold and damp, a feeling which seemed to reach up to their hearts and soak them in a way which made them feel quite heavy.

Mario was really beginning to feel sick to his stomach as he sloshed through the swamp. It was a feeling like when he was ill with the flu and his body begged for rest and relief and he began to feel as if he might break down in tears, an emotion he never liked to feel and he struggled hard against it as he kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept himself believing he was strong enough to get through this.

"I'm sure we've been in far worse situations than this, right Luigi? Luigi?"

He glanced over his shoulder and found Luigi was a feet behind him and was knee deep in the swamp. He could see from the heartbroken expression on his face he had just given up.

"Leave me, Mario," he said mournfully. "I can't make it. Go on alone. I can't stand the sadness anymore. It's all over for me."

"Not if I can help it," declared Mario. He took Luigi into his arms and with all his might pulled himout of the swamp which he had sunk in up to his waist. "I'll carry you," he said. "You're my brother, Luigi. I love you."

Mario carried Luigi through the remaining ten feet of the swamp. Once they reached the end they sat down in the sand and took off their shoes and emptied them out.

"Well, I never want to go through here again!" exclaimed Mario.

"Neither do I," added Luigi. "Now we know we it's called the Swamps of Sadness! By the way... thanks for saving my life, big bro."

"Anytime, little bro," Mario smiled. "There is no one I'd rather go on my adventures with than you."

"So, what do we do now?" asked Luigi, putting his shoes on again.

"Well, I guess we go on," replied Mario.

So they started out a new path down a sandy road, and as they went along Mario hummed a little tune and soon Luigi joined in.

"Me and you,  
A two man crew  
Side by side,

We're unified,

And we will never be divided.

Me and you,

A two man crew

We're the best of buddies,

Me and you."

Meanwhile, unknown to either of them, the evil Lord No-Heart was looking into his magic cauldron and watching them with a scowl on his unseen face.

"Those blithering fools!" he hollered. "They may have gotten out of the Swamps of Sadness but I will send them a bigger enemy! Wario! Waluigi!"

Instantly two figures appeared before him. One was very big and fat with purple overalls and a yellow shirt and the other was very tall and skinny with dark blue overall and a purple shirt. They both long twisted black mustaches and pointed ears and wore caps with the letter W sewn into them. They looked like distorted versions of Mario and Luigi.

"Now," said No-Heart. "I want you to follow after the Mario brothers and make sure they fail before they finish their journey. Just make things confusing for them and set them off track."

"What's in it for me?" demanded Wario.

"You will have all of the gold there is in the Mushroom Kingdom after Mario and Luigi are overthrown so that Bowser can have the Princess and the Mushroom Kingdom," said No-Heart with his eyes glowing red with frustration.

"Then your wish is our command," said Wario.


	4. Chapter 4

Mario and Luigi had been wandering through a seemingly endless desert for hours and now it was beginning to look like there was no hope for them in sight. The sun above them was very hot and the air was humid. Every now and then the wind would blow sand out in front of them and make their vision blurry.

"Mario, can you see anything?" asked Luigi rubbing his eyes.

"No," said Mario in despair. "There's nothing anywhere."

"Why don't we give up now and turn back!" exclaimed Luigi. "We're just hopelessly lost out here!"

"Why, Luigi! I'm surprised at you!" Mario said scolding. "A hero never quits when someone is in trouble!"

"Aw, bro! Can't you see there's no hope for us so there's no hope for Peach, either?" said Luigi with a heavy sigh.

"There is always hope for you somewhere at sometime," Mario said reassuringly. "We just have to keep looking for it and it may turn up when we least expect it."

Luigi moaned pitifully. "I'm just so hot and tired and thirsty," he said wiping his gloved hand across his sweaty forehead.

"I understand, bro," said Mario gently. "I am too. Let's keep our eyes focused, there may be a hidden well somewhere around here waiting to be found."

"Mario how can you think there could be anything growing or flowing in a place like this?" asked Luigi irritably.

"Well, from my experience every place can a some kind of surprise in it," said Mario earnestly. "The last time I went through a desert I met a robotic dragon guarding the Pure Heart in it."

While Mario was telling Luigi about his past adventures Luigi happened to see something out of the corner of his left eye. He stopped and looked again, rubbing his eyes, and his vision was blurry at first and then he started to see what looked like a tall green spiky plant with a big pink head and a mouth full of sharp teeth that seemed to be holding a small figure in a bright yellow dress with matching shoes and shoulder-length brown hair.

It took a moment for the realization of what he was seeing to settle into him and when it did his heart leapt into his throat and he jumped five feet into the air and exclaimed at the top of his lungs, "Holy ravioli! A giant piranha plant has Princess Daisy! I will save you, my darling!"

Mario looked around frantically but he didn't see what Luigi was talking about, and when he saw Luigi running toward a large green cactus with yellow flowers growing on it he knew what was going on.

"Luigi, no! It isn't Daisy! It's a-" It was too late. Luigi ran smack dab into the prickly cactus and stuck himself in a hundred places.

"Yeow! He cried out as he fell back feeling of the thorns in his body. "It bit me!"

Mario ran up to Luigi and picked him up and began pulling the thorns out of him.

"This is what I was trying to tell you, bro! You were seeing a mirage," he explained.

"A mirage?" Luigi questioned.

"When you're out in the desert a long time and you're hot and thirsty you begin seeing things that are not really there, or you see things differently from what they really are like you just did," Mario explained to him calmly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, bro," Luigi said with embarrassment. "I guess I was just thinking of Daisy and wishing she was here with me now."

"I know how you feel, bro," said Mario understandingly. "You love Daisy like I love Peach."

"She always picks me up when I fall, she never talks down to me when I mess up, she loves me just the way I am," Luigi reflected. "I feel so privileged that someone as strong as Princess Daisy could love someone like me."

"Because you both complete each other," Mario said observantly.

"And to think I almost broke up with her because of my own weaknesses!" Luigi added. "And then you had to set me straight again."

"I can remember it like it was yesterday," said Mario reminiscing.

_Mario had just got back from taking Yoshi for a walk and he found Luigi sitting down with a very forlorn expression and his eyes looked like they'd been crying some._

"_What's wrong, bro?" Mario asked as he came over and put a hand on his shoulder._

_Luigi sighed and said, "It's Daisy."_

_Daisy was the princess of Sarasaland whom Mario had rescued once from an evil alien and while she had initially gotten a crush on Mario when she came to the Mushroom Kingdom for the tennis tournament she had fallen in love with Luigi and Luigi had fallen in love with her and they had been a steady couple ever since and Mario was happy that his little brother had a princess just like he did._

"_Oh no!" Mario gasped. "Don't tell me she broke up with you!"_

"_I won't, because she didn't," said Luigi._

"_Oh!" Mario was relieved._

"_I broke up with her," Luigi said._

"_You what? Why would you do that?" Mario asked in shock._

"_It's for the best," Luigi said calmly. "You know every time we go to Sarasaland to visit her subjects always mutter things like 'why would the princess choose someone like him? He's a wimp. She must be crazy to pick someone so pathetic', and you know what's worse is their right. I'm not brave or strong like you are, bro. I'm just a nobody. Daisy shouldn't be with someone like me."_

"_Nonsense, Luigi!" exclaimed Mario in disbelief. "You are very brave! Remember all those times you helped me rescue Peach? I couldn't have come through without you with me. And besides, you can't let the opinions of a few insensitive people get in the way of what your heart truly wants and needs."_

"_My heart only wants what best for her," said Luigi. "And this is what is best for her. She'll get over me eventually."_

_Mario began thinking. He had to let Luigi see what a mistake he was making. "Remember Pauline, she was my first love, and she moved far away from us after I saved her from that Donkey Kong monster that attacked in Brooklyn?"_

"_Yes, I remember," replied Luigi. "She was afraid of being kidnapped by it again, even with you being there for her, and when she left you were so depressed for weeks and for a while I was beginning to think I'd lost you."_

"_Well, that happens to you when the one you love the most leaves, or in your case when you leave her," Mario stated pointedly. "And I don't want you to bring upon yourself what I went through during the saddest time of my life."_

"_Well, even if it was the saddest time of your life you still made it through it and when it was all over you found Peach," Luigi pointed out._

"_Yes, I did," said Mario. "And I really do love her, you know I do. But I haven't really gotten over Pauline, and I don't know if I ever will for she has left a hole in my heart. I am very lucky to have found Peach, but not everyone gets so lucky after they feel like their world has come to an end."_

"_I do understand what you're saying, bro," said Luigi somberly. "But I really only broke up with Daisy because she is better off without me."_

"_Are you sure?" asked Mario._

"_Yes, I am," replied Luigi sadly. "You know she is a princess with a reputation she needs to keep."_

"_Well," said Mario thoughtfully. "Suppose I break up with Peach because I think I'm not good enough for her being as I'm a plumber and she's a princess?"_

"_Mario! You wouldn't!" exclaimed Luigi._

"_No, of course I wouldn't," Mario assured him. "But if I did what would you think?"_

"_Why, I'd think you were crazy!" exclaimed Luigi. "I'd think you were you were throwing away the best years of your life for no reason! I'd think you were a fool for hurting the one who matters to you the most in the world! I'd-"_

_Mario had been nodding along as Luigi speaking and now he presented him with an 'exactly what I have been trying to tell you' look._

_Luigi instantly came to his senses. "Oh no! What can I do now!" he cried._

"_Well, if I were you," said Mario. "I'd high speed over to Sarasaland and beg Daisy's forgiveness."_

"_Right! Thanks Mario! You're the best, bro!" said Luigi as he hurried off._

* * *

_Mario stood and shook his head muttering to himself, "Little brothers, you can't live with them but you can't live without them either!"_

Mario pulled the last of the thorns off of Luigi and then they set off again.

Mario remembered what the Care Bears had told him about thinking about Peach to reach out to her. So he began remembering all the happy times they'd had together and all the times he'd rescued her and the congratulatory kisses she gave him each time, they always seemed to grow sweeter.

He really hoped she was alright wherever she was, though remembered the malicious glow of the evil wizard's bloodshot eyes as he kidnapped her and he became more concerned for her being than he ever had before for he knew that evil wizards were capable of torturing their victims with their black magic and he couldn't bear the thought of Peach being subject to such wickedness. He remembered Tender Heart Bear had said Peach might not be able to remember him when he found her and this troubled him for he didn't understand how Peach could forget who he was. That meant the evil No-Heart wizard had to be corrupting her heart or mind or both in some way and thinking of this brought a terrible pang into his heart and he became more anxious than ever to find her.

"Help! Mario help!" he suddenly heard her cry out to him.

He looked ahead to his right and he saw Peach manhandled by the Koopa King Bowser.

"Help Mario!" she cried out again.

He was dumbstruck, too stunned to move. He wanted so much to run to her and fight Bowser off from her, and yet at the same time he felt it just couldn't be real. It had to be another mirage like the one Luigi had seen a short while ago. After all, Peach had been kidnapped by No-Heart and so she had to be him now, not Bowser... unless No-Heart had given her over to Bowser.

"Mario help me!" He heard Peach crying again.

It was then that his stout heart overcame his reasoning and he began dashing towards the image of Bowser and Peach. Then the next thing he knew he collided face first into a heavy cactus thick with prickles.

"Yeow!" It was now Luigi's turn to pull out the thorns.

"I guess I should be more careful," said Mario, feeling of his wounds.

"You were just thinking of Peach just like I was thinking of Daisy," said Luigi. "I guess we all think of our loved ones when we miss them the most."

Then for a while they moved on in silence, and then Mario suddenly heard another cry for help, it was a different one and it was also one he never wanted to hear again because it made his heart break and not like it did for Peach's.

He looked to the right ahead of him and cringed helplessly as he saw Pauline, his first and former sweetheart, being held in the clutches of the Donkey Kong. He stared for a moment with his heart bleeding from the inside out as a bittersweet wave of nostalgia came upon him. Then as he was reasoning with himself it was just another mirage he hurried to catch up with Luigi again.

The leap of courage he just took had been inspired by a fairly recent memory of Peach.

_Mario was laying down in the grass on white blanket with his head resting on his elbows. Peach was laying down beside him as they were watching the sun set._

"_I can't remember seeing a more beautiful sunset," sighed Peach._

"_Neither can I," said Mario. Then he felt a tightening in his chest as he suddenly remembered seeing a similar sunset over the Brooklyn skyline he had watched with Pauline._

_It seemed like he had thought of Pauline every day since she had left him and he missed her terribly. He couldn't wondering if she missed him too, if she ever thought of him, or if she had maybe found someone else like he had. Peach reminded him of Pauline sometimes and he did basically everything with her he used to do with Pauline._

"_Mario?" said Peach._

"_Yes, Pauline?" he said._

"_Pauline?" Peach sat up suddenly in surprise._

_Mario instantly realized what he had just done. In his reminiscing he had accidentally called Peach by the name of his former girlfriend._

"_I meant Peach!" he said quickly correcting himself._

"_Mario, you called me Pauline. Why? Who is she?" asked Peach in confusion._

"_N-nobody," Mario stammered, wishing he had never let the name slip._

_Peach clearly wasn't satisfied. "Mario,who is Pauline?" she demanded. "Is there something you've never told me?"_

_Mario looked into Peach's beautiful blue eyes and knew he had to tell her the truth. "Yes, there is," he said with a sigh. "Pauline was my girlfriend when I lived in Brooklyn. I saved her from the Donkey Kong when it invaded us. She was so scared by her experience that she moved far away so it wouldn't find her again."_

_Peach stared at him for a moment. Then she asked, "Mario, do you miss Pauline?"_

"_Peach, I can never lie to you," he said. "I do miss her, every day."_

_Peach was now beginning to look a bit sad. "Did you... love her?"_

"_Yes, I did," said Mario, returning her sadness._

"_Do you still love her?" asked Peach hesitantly._

"_Yes, I do," he said miserably._

_Tears sprang to Peach's sweet eyes and she turned quickly and began to run away from him._

"_Peach wait!" Mario quickly ran after her. He jumped and caught her by the hand before she was over the hillside._

"_Mario!" she wept. "Why didn't you tell me about her before?"_

"_I just didn't want to hurt you," he said honestly. "I didn't think it was important because it's in my past. I... I'm sorry."_

_Peach sniveled. "I always thought you loved ME!"_

"_I DO love you!" Mario exclaimed tenderly. "Pauline is my past, and you are my present," he continued, "and I want you to also be my future. I did love Pauline but not like I love you, she wasn't a princess, and I want you to be my princess, now and forever."_

_Peach stopped crying. She turned around and looked him with a smile starting to form on her face. "Mario..." she said hopefully. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"_

_Mario nodded, smiling sweetly. He bent to one knee, took her hand in his and said, "Do you think you and I could rule the Mushroom Kingdom together, my sweet princess?"_

_The sun had now set and the stars were out. Mario glimpsed a comet blazing across the evening sky as Peach swept him up into her arms and kissed him. It was their first passionate kiss and it lasted a long time._

Mario felt better ignoring the mirage of Pauline when he thought about Peach. Pauline was now just a bad memory in the back of his mind. He sometimes still had flashbacks about her, but he soon forgot about them later in the day and went on with his daily business Mario loved Princess Peach with all his heart and couldn't ever think of falling for another woman.

He and Luigi walked on for a very long time. Then suddenly Luigi stopped and pointed straight ahead.

"Look! It's an oasis! We're saved!" he exclaimed in rapturous joy.

Mario shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted in the bright sun trying to see what Luigi was pointing at. "Are you sure it's not just another mirage?"

"I don't care if it's a mirage or not!" Luigi shouted. "All I know is I am thirsty and I need a bath! I'll race you to the well! Let's go!"

Then before Mario could stop him Luigi was off running towards the well he claimed he saw. Mario sighed and felt there was no moistness left on his tongue.

_It probably is just another mirage,_ he thought gloomily. _But Luigi is right. I'm so thirsty right now I don't care if I end up with a mouth full of sand._

"Here I come, Weege!" he shouted running after him.

He raced with Luigi to the biggest and fullest pool of the clearest water he had ever seen. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he made a long jump into it.

Within seconds he found himself refreshingly soaked from head to toe in the very real pool water. He splashed the water into his eyes and cleansed his itchy dry eyes and then splashed more water into the air and let it fall into his mouth and found he never knew how good the taste of just purely clean water was.

He began to drink more until his thirst was quenched. Then before he knew it he and Luigi were involved a brawl of splashing and dousing each other's heads in the water well.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ten-year-old Mario and eight-year-old Luigi were playing on the old climbing tree in their backyard, something which they did every day. Mario jumped from the lowest branch up to the next branch within reach. He clutched onto the next branch he could reach and swung his legs freely in the air._

"_Luigi, what do you want to be when you grow up?" he asked his little brother over on the branch to the left._

"_I think I'd just like to be carpenter like our Papa." Luigi replied, reaching for the next branch up._

"_Why?" asked Mario._

"_Um... I just like to help Papa in his workshop a lot," Luigi replied," and I like to build things like that toy boat I made last year. What do you want to be?"_

_Mario grinned widely at the question. "I'm gonna be a hero and save a beautiful princess from an evil monster!" he replied as he did a flip on the branch he was clinging on._

_Luigi chuckled. "But there are no princesses or monsters around here," he said._

"_So I'll just go to another world somewhere and find them myself," replied Mario as he leapt up onto a higher branch and pulled a small twig off of it and held it out as if it were a sword._

"_Gee, that sounds really... Ahhh!" Luigi suddenly lost his grip on the branch he was holding onto and began slipping away from it. _

_Fortunately, Mario was right beside him and he reached down as far as he could while clutching onto his branch with just one hand and grabbed onto Luigi's hand and pulled him up again to where he could grab onto a branch again before he let go._

"_Ohhh... Thanks, bro," Luigi said heaving a deep sigh of relief. "Where would I be without you?" and then he seemed to suddenly realize something. "And what will I do without you when you're away in another world and fighting monsters and rescuing princesses?" he asked worriedly._

"_You know, you're right," said Mario thoughtfully. "And I guess I wouldn't want to be a hero without you at my side. So... tell you what, I'll become a carpenter with you if you'll stay with me when I go to the other world to rescue the beautiful princess."_

"_It's a deal!" exclaimed Luigi happily. "Who knows, I might even find a princess of my own there, too!"_

_Just then they heard their Mama calling them home for supper. "Mario! Luigi!"_

_They jumped down from the tree and ran into the house quickly._

"_Mario!"_

"Mario?"

Mario's reminiscing was abruptly interrupted as he was brought back to the present by Luigi.

"Oh, sorry, Luigi. I was just thinking," he said.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Luigi curiously.

"I was remembering when we were kids playing on the climbing tree in our backyard, remember?"

"Yeah, I have many fond memories of those days, too," Luigi said wistfully.

"Remember when we talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up?" Mario asked. "And I always wanted to be a hero like in the stories Mama and Papa would read to us, and now after all those years you and I are here."

"Yeah, life has just been one big game for us it seems," replied Luigi.

"And when the game gets hard, we just play it harder," returned Mario cheerfully.

Mario and Luigi had long since left the Desert of Shattered Hopes behind them and as the ground became grassier and the trees grew and other plants grew more and more around them they assumed they had now entered into the Forest of Misfortune which the Care Bears had told them about. The further they went the darker it seemed to get, almost as if the sun were setting.

"So, if this is the Forest of Misforune, what do you suppose it means?" Luigi asked wondering aloud.

"Well, I suppose it's a place where unfortunate stuff happens all the time, so we had better be on the look out for things that are not what they seem to be," Mario said wisely.

Luigi nodded in agreement and then stopped momentarily as he glanced down by his feet to pick up a small round object.

"Oh look! Acorns!" he exclaimed as he picked up as many as he could see and popped them into his mouth one by one.

"Uh, Luigi, I wouldn't eat those if I were you," Mario cautioned him.

"Why not? They're just acorns and acorns are safe to eat and I'm so hungry," Luigi said speaking in between mouthfuls.

"That may be true, but they were on the ground and I they might be..." Just then they heard a very loud squeaking noise coming from somewhere around them by the trees.

They turned and saw a small brown bushy-tailed and very irate looking squirrel standing in the hollow trunk of a tree beside them. It jumped up and down furiously and waved its tiny hands at them as if scolding them.

"Oh! So that is what you meant!" Luigi exclaimed somewhat abashed as he took notice of the angry squirrel. "Gee, I – Hey!"

The mad squirrel had just grabbed onto the acorns in Luigi's hand and tried to pry them out of it. Luigi fought back stubbornly though and tried to pull away from the squirrel but the grip was too tight, and then suddenly the squirrel yanked extra hard and pulled Luigi into the tree trunk with him.

"What?... Hey!... Oh!... Help!" Luigi screamed as his shoes disappeared and he fell down a hole that was apparently at the bottom of the tree.

Mario stood frozen in shock for a moment, and then as he came to his senses he looked down the hole and could see only darkness. "Hang on, little bro! I'm coming for you!" he called down into it with his voice echoing as he jumped into the hole in the tree.

Mario found himself tumbling down a wooden shaft as if he were on a water slide. He kept his arms and legs firmly in place until he finally came out of the other end and fell onto the ground with a hard bump. He stood up and rubbed his backside.

"Luigi!" he called out looking all around him. "Luigi! Where are you!"

"Here I am, bro! Right here!" he heard Luigi's voice call back to him.

Mario turned relieved to see Luigi standing right behind him. "Oh, Luigi! Are you alright?" he asked very concerned.

"I'm fine," he replied. "But I'll never feel the same way about acorns or squirrels again!" he chuckled lightly.

Just then they heard the loud squeaking noise again and looked down and found the same mad squirrel jumping up and down and scolding them in a high squeaky voice again.

Luigi gave the squirrel a very irritated look and then kicked it hard with his left foot and sent it flying out of their way.

"Well, look, a flying squirrel!" Luigi laughed. "That will teach you to mess with me!" he yelled out to the squirrel.

"Luigi! That wasn't very nice!" Mario exclaimed, rather shocked.

"Ah, who cares about that stupid squirrel! Now come on, we've got a princess to save!" Luigi huffed as he dragged Mario along with him.

Mario really thought Luigi action was very out of character for his, but then he shrugged it off thinking maybe he was just feeling agitated over the task set before them and followed him wordlessly.

After some time they came to a set of two pathways in a clearing in the woods. They stopped and stared confused about which way to go.

"Now where do we go?" Mario asked, scratching his head.

Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, appeared a strange figure that looked like a woman dressed in a frock of green and brown and yellow leaves with what looked like shoes made of brown leaves on her feet and her skin was dark green and her hair was red with bits of leaves and twigs sticking in it.

"Who are you?" asked Mario in surprise and wonder.

"I am the guardian of this Forest of Misfortune," she replied in a mystical sounding voice. "I am here to warn you to not go down the left path but to always stick to the right path if you wish to make it safely out of this forest." And with that said she vanished just as suddenly as she had appeared.

"Well, I guess now we know which way to go, don't we?" Mario said cheerily as he started in the direction of the right path, but then Luigi suddenly stopped him.

"Hold on! Now why should we listen to her? Let's go the left path!" Luigi demanded.

"But, we can't," protested Mario. "It would be unwise to ignore a spirit's warning as there could be some real danger along the left path."

"Hey, you're not scared are you?" Luigi taunted. "That's it, isn't it? You're chicken! Bak, bak, bak!"

Mario suddenly felt very insulted. "No, not me! I'm not chicken! I am never scared of anything! Let's go!" And he marched directly down the path to the left.

They entered deeper into the forest and found everything around them was suddenly much darker and creepier. They soon began hearing strange noises that sounded vaguely like hooting and hollering.

Mario began feeling a chill running down his spine, but he tried hard to not shiver. Then suddenly he saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes appear in one of the trees, and then another pair of eyes, and then another. As he looked on trembling he began to see shadows in the trees take the forms of small monkey like creatures which he remembered were called Grinders. Alone they were just pests but when there were many of them like right now they were very tough to beat.

"Hey up there!" Luigi called up to the Grinders in the trees. "I bet you can't catch Mario! I bet you can't! "Oooh oooh! Ahhh ahhh!" he jumped up and down wiggling his arms and Mario could see from the narrowing of their yellow eyes he was provoking them.

"Luigi, no! Stop!" Mario said loudly. "They might-" Just then he felt to hairy strong arms grab him from behind and pull him up into the trees.

"Help! Luigi help me!" Mario screamed as he felt dozens of grimy little hands scratching at him.

"Aww, help yourself!" Luigi retorted. "You're the hero after all, not me!"

Mario grimaced and punched a at a monkey to his left and then to his right. He was momentarily set free but then he was grabbed again by another pair of hairy arms and tossed from one monkey to the other. He kicked and punched and jabbed at his tormentors until his arms and legs were nearly exhausted, and finally he weakened the grinders enough that one of them dropped him out of the trees and landed hard on his backside on the ground.

He stood up and dusted himself off. He looked up at Luigi who to his astonishment was smirking. "Well, I'm alright, no thanks to you!" he exclaimed in annoyance. "I thought we were in this together!"

"And I thought you were supposed to be the stronger one!" Luigi shot back. "But you just let those grinders make a monkey out of you! Hahaha!" Luigi put his head back and laughed loudly.

For the first time in his life Mario actually felt like punching Luigi... except something wasn't right. Luigi he knew would never kick someone or something like did that squirrel and he would never ignore someone's warning of any kind for he was always very careful about what he did, and most importantly he would never tease him in a mean way and never, ever refuse to help him if he was in trouble.

"Shut up!" Mario shouted at the imposter in front of him. "You... You're not my brother... You're..."Walugi!" exclaimed Mario."

"So now you figured it out!" laughed Waluigi as he turned into his tall skinny pointed eared self.

"You tricked me, you imposter! What have you done with Luigi?" Mario demanded in a rage.

"I don't know where he is!" Walugi said holding out his hands. "But at least I got you off the right path and now you'll never find him or you're way out of here!" he pulled his head back in uproarious laughter.

Mario was more angry and outraged than he had ever been, but he fortunately remembered what the Care Bears had told him and so he stuck his chest out and exclaimed, "This is for Luigi!" and stared his Caring Heart Symbol at Walugi which threw him backward and knocked him down stunned.

Mario then headed back in the opposite direction and went to find Luigi.

* * *

Luigi had tumbled head over heels out of the shaft in the tree trunk and found himself lying on the ground face down. He got up slowly and rubbed his sore limbs.

"That's the last time I ever take something without knowing if it belongs to someone or something!" he said to himself. "Well, now I've got to find Mario."

He wandered around for a while before he heard Mario's voice call out to him. "Luigi! There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

"Mario! Am I glad to see you!" Luigi exclaimed in great relief. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you. You were right, I shouldn't have eaten those acorns!"

"Well, try to be more careful next time, okay? Now let's go, we have a princess to save!" Mario exclaimed and pulled him along.

After a while they came to a clearing in the forest and saw two separate paths, one leading to the left side and one leading to the right side. They were confused about which path they should take.

"Oh dear! What are we going to do now?" Luigi wondered aloud.

Then suddenly the figure of a woman dressed all in colored leaves with green skin and red hair appeared before them.

"Who are you?" asked Luigi, wondering whether he should be frightened or not.

"I am the guardian of this Forest of Misfortune," she replied in a mystical voice that sounded full of wisdom. "I am here to warn all potential travelers to never take the left path but to always stick to the right path to get out safely." Then she vanished as suddenly as she had appeared.

Luigi felt immensely relieved now. "Well, you heard her, bro," he said cheerily. "We go right and we'll be out of here!" He started to go in the direction of the right path but then Mario suddenly stopped him.

"Not so fast there! What do you want to listen to a tree spirit for, they're just figments of imagination after all!"

"But I could have sworn this one was real and it talked to us!" Luigi protested.

"Well, it's not real, and so we should definitely take the left path. Come on, and if you won't come I'll just leave you here!" He started to walk away from him down the path to the left.

Luigi stood and clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and then rushed to catch up with Mario. "Hey, wait for me!"

"Luigi, you're always such a baby!" Mario taunted him.

"I am not!" Luigi shot back angrily.

"Yes, you are!" Mario retorted. "You always run and scream when there's boos and big goombas around and you've never once saved anybody, not even yourself, I always have to all the work!"

Luigi's feelings were hurt and he snapped back, "Well, at least I'm careful unlike you! You're always so headstrong and careless, always jumping into everything and getting yourself and sometimes both of us into trouble!"

"Shut up, you blithering idiot!" Mario shouted at him.

"I am not an idiot!" Luigi shouted back.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

Luigi was so busy arguing with Mario like this that he didn't even notice that a chain-chomp was lurking nearby until it was too late and it bit down on his left leg with its long sharp teeth and wrapped its chains around him tightly.

"Yeow!" Luigi exclaimed in great pain. "Get it off me!"

"Get it off yourself, you weakling!" snapped Mario just standing there and crossing his arms.

Luigi moaned and whined in pain and agony as he wrestled with the chain-chomp for a long time before he finally pulled it off, leaving a rip in his overalls at the left leg.

"You see!" said Mario. "I could have freed myself from that thing in less than half as much time as it took you to! I am so ashamed of you!"

Tears streamed down Luigi's face, tears of anger and pain, and for the first time in his life he felt like punching Mario, he started to reach toward him, but then suddenly Mario reached out and pushed him down and fell down hard on his backside. Then he suddenly realized something he should have all along. Mario would never be mean or rude to him, or ignore someone's warning for he always looked before he leaped into action, and most importantly he would never refuse to help him if he was in trouble, and never ever push and belittle him.

"You... You're not my brother!" he exclaimed as he slowly staggered back up to his feet. "You are..."Wario!" exclaimed Luigi.

"So you figured it out!" laughed Wario as he turned into his big fat pointed eared self.

"You tricked me, you impostor! What have you done with Mario?" Luigi demanded furiously.

"I don't know where he is!" Wario said holding his hands out. "But at least I got you off the right path and now you'll never find Mario or your way out of here!" He pulled his head back and laughed mercilessly.

Luigi felt more angry and outraged than he ever had, but he fortunately remembered what the Care Bears had told him and so he stuck his chest out and exclaimed, "This is for Mario!" as he stared his Caring Heart Symbol at Wario which stunned him and knocked him down as he fell over backward.

Luigi then turned around and ran back in the opposite direction to try to find Mario.

Mario and Luigi were each running in the same direction from opposite ends and finally they ran into each other. They stood still staring at each other for a long moment studying each other.

"Is it really you, Mario?" asked Luigi.

"Is it really you, Luigi?" asked Mario. "Let's see... "What is your favorite food, who is your true love, and who is your best buddy?"

"Pasta, Princess Daisy and my brother Mario," replied Luigi. "Now it's your turn. What is your favorite food, who is your true love, and who is you best buddy?"

"Pasta, Princess Peach, and my brother Luigi," replied Mario.

"Mario! It's really you!" Luigi exclaimed in joy and relief as he embraced Mario.

"Luigi! It's really you!" exclaimed Mario as he returned the hug.

"I got lost and I ran into Wario, he was disguised as you," Luigi explained breathlessly.

"So did I, and I ran into Walugi disguised as you," said Mario.

"He didn't fool me for a minute!" declared Luigi.

"Me neither!" replied Mario. "Now come on! We've got a princess to save!"

So the Mario brothers stayed close at each other's side and went down the right path that eventually led them out of the Forest of Misfortune. Along the way they ran into some more grinders, and chain-chomps, and goombas, and fuzzies, and fire-chomps, and a fire snake, and even a few boos here and there, but together they made it through.


	6. Chapter 6

As Mario and Luigi left the Forest of Misfortune the trees grew fewer and fewer until no more could be seen and it also grew darker until it became so dark they could barely see each other and the sky above them was covered in dark clouds and every now and then a low rumble of thunder could be heard.

"Where are we now?" asked Luigi shivering slightly.

"I suppose we're now in the Valley of Deep Despair," Mario replied. "The Care Bears said it was the last obstacle before we get to No-Heart's castle and rescue Peach at last! Mario was beginning to sound victorious already.

"I just want this nightmare of an adventure to be over and done with soon," Luigi said trembling and wrapping his arms around himself.

"So do I," said Mario sympathetically. "Just remember I care about you, bro, and I will be right here for you when we're in trouble.

"Thanks, bro," said Luigi gratefully. "And I care about you too."

They walked in silence and then a slight rain began to drop from the dark clouds above them, then started to steadily get heavier and colder.

"Oh dear, I just hate cold rains," Luigi moaned. "Warm ones are okay, but not cold ones!"

Shortly afterward a thick mist began to creep up the ground and rise higher until it was practically all around them.

"I can't see!" Luigi wailed helplessly.

"Shh... I think I hear something coming!" whispered Mario. "Look!"

From out of the darkness there came floating towards them a dark hooded small figure with a large white mask with two empty holes for eyes and a smaller hole for a mouth.

"Oh no! It's a shy guy!" Luigi exclaimed.

"And there's another one, and another one, and another one!" Mario exclaimed pointing in every direction.

"What do we do?" exclaimed Luigi.

"We'll have to use our Caring Heart symbols on them like we did with Wario and Waluigi!" declared Mario.

And so they did, and they stared their heart symbols at the shy guys and stunned them and as they fell over one by one a strange thing happened, they spoke to them in strangely human sounding voices.

"I hate Mario!" said one. "Sonic could kick his butt any day!"

"I hate Luigi!" said another one. "He is so annoying!"

As soon as they heard these things the light of their heart symbols went out.

"Where are those words coming from?" asked Luigi, his voice quavering. "And why do they say them?They hurt me so!"

"They hurt me too, bro," replied Mario as he tried to light up his heart symbol again as there were more shy guys to deal with coming up to them. "I'm not sure, but I think they must be coming from the outside world from people who don't like us. We must keep on staring, though! Just think of Peach and Daisy and don't forget the Super Mario Brothers Fan Club!"

And so they did, and they stared as hard as they could at the shy guys and each time one of them fell over another nasty phrase came out of it.

"The M on Mario's hat stands for Moron!"

"The L on Luigi's hat stands for Loser!"

"Come on, Luigi!" exclaimed Mario. "You just have to grin and bear it!"

"As long as I can remember, I hate Mario! He annoys the hell out of me! I hate Luigi and Mario, but I hate Mario more because he hogs up Link's spotlight!"

Mario felt a sudden pang of weakness at hearing this and his heart light suddenly deflected off of a shy guy, and it came at him again saying, "Mario and Luigi embody every negative Italian stereotype! I have never wanted to play as a fat, xenophobic, racist stereotype!"

Mario started to faint but then suddenly the shy vanished in a puff of smoke and Mario felt himself being lifted up to his feet again. He looked up and saw Luigi.

"Thanks, bro," Mario said gratefully. "I'd surely be down without you!"

"Any time," Luigi said smiling.

Just then Mario saw an eerie figure coming up behind Luigi's back. It looked much like a shy guy except it had no feet and had sickles in place of hands. A moment later the realization of what it was hit Mario and he yelled out in horror.

"Luigi! Look behind you!"

Luigi looked and saw the Glum Reaper approaching him, and he tried to focus his heart symbol but it was a moment too late for the reaper had raised its scythe and while the heart light struck the villain, it also struck Luigi in the center.

"Luigi! No!" Mario screamed in horror as he rushed up to his brother just as the Glum Reaper disappeared and Luigi fell to the ground.

Mario leaned down over his fallen sibling and tenderly lifted his head up. "Luigi... Please be okay!" Mario pleaded almost whimpering.

Luigi slowly lifted his eyes up to face Mario, his mouth slowly trembled as he struggled to speak. "I'm sorry... bro... I tried," he muttered before his eyes closed and he fell still.

Mario sat for a moment in total shock and then slowly tears welled up in his blue eyes. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no, dear brother, don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

Then Mario laid his head down on Luigi's chest and sobbed like he never had before. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom sat alone in the darkness of the Valley of Deep Despair and sobbed like a lost little boy with no way to get home.

After a moment he suddenly felt a soft furry paw on his shoulder, he looked up and through his tear filled eyes he blurrily saw a white bear with a big silver heart on his tummy standing over him. He looked over and saw many of the Care Bears he had met before had arrived on the scene.

"You got here too late," he said sniffling as tears continued to fall from his eyes. "My brother is gone!"

"No he isn't!" Tender Heart Bear assured Mario tenderly. "He's just been severely stunned in his heart."

"Is... Is he gonna be okay, then?" Mario asked hopefully as he wiped his eyes on the backs of his gloved hands.

"He should be," replied Tender Heart as he and a few other care bears picked Luigi up and lifted him onto a stretcher. "We will take him back to CareALot with us now where Take Care Bear will attend to him."

"You must go on now," said the white care bear with the silver heart symbol. "It's not too late to rescue Peach and you must keep your heart strong so that it will reach out to her."

"You must listen to Faithful Heart," said Tender Heart.

The white bear known as Faithful Heart produced a small white handkerchief from his tummy symbol and handed it to Mario. He blew his nose on it and then stood up straight and tall and a determined look appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Care Bears," he said stoutly. "Take good care of Luigi and I'll be back with Peach before you know it!"

Mario then rushed forward, knocking down more shy guys with his heart symbol as he went along, bearing their nasty taunts.

When he finally passed by the last of the shy guys he came to the edge of great cliff, the other side of which was was at least twenty feet across. He thought quickly but couldn't seem to think of a solution, until he remembered about the Care Bears telling him to use his heart and so he focused his heart symbol and stared at the distance between him and the other end of the gulf and at once a stream of bright red shot out of it and bridged the distance.

He crossed over the bridge he had made easily and looking in the distance he could see the faint outline of a great castle ahead of him and he knew at once it had to be No-Heart's where Peach was being held.

He pressed on and after a while he came to great pit and looking down into it he could see noting but total darkness and realized it must be one of the bottomless pits. It only took him a moment though to come up with a solution. He focused his heart symbol and stared at the empty space between him and the hole and a giant heart shaped mattress appeared over it instantly and covered all of the hole from end to end. Mario made a big jump and landed in the middle of the heart shaped mattress which he bounced on and then jumped over a little ways across the other side.

Now feeling more confident he ran forward again and eventually he came to a large lake of dark water which was filled with giant fishlike creatures which he remembered were called Blurps and they could easily eat him if he got to close. He thought a second before he focused his heart symbol again and out shot a series a foot sized red hearts which placed themselves neatly across the lake up the other end of it. He made a jump on one and then another, and the Blurps jumped out and snapped at him but each time he just jumped one or two or three heart steps further from them until he made it safely to the other side.

He smiled with satisfaction as he realized he had just made to No-heart's castle. But then he glanced upward and saw that the castle was about ten stories high and if he was to rescue Peach he would have to go up to the highest tower as that was no doubt where she was being held captive. He thought a moment and then conjured a red heart shaped balloon with his heart symbol and holding tightly to it he let himself lift up off of the ground and into the air.

He floated higher and higher, until the ground was far below him. He looked up quickly and saw he was approaching the tenth story fast. So he spotted the nearest window and as soon as he was close enough he made a sideways jump let go of the balloon as he bounded through the window landing neatly on his feet.

He looked up and there he saw No-Heart, the dark wizard himself standing before him. Mario stood his ground though and did not cower or quail under No-Heart's intense red-eyes. Instead he stood straight and looked him squarely in the face and demanded, "Where is Peach?"

No-Heart scowled at him from inside his dark hood. "I figured you would make it this far," he snarled. "You are a competitor with a big ego!"

Mario stood still and demanded more loudly, "Where is Peach?"

"You will find her around here if you look hard enough," No-Heart said. "But first you will have to find the key... and then... you will have to get past Phanto!"

As he spoke a red and white featureless floating mask with two empty eye sockets came hurtling toward Mario like a bullet. No-Heart laughed with malicious glee as Mario fled from it.

Mario was chased all around the tower by the haunted mask, everywhere he turned it was hot on his trail. When at last seemed to lose sight of it he backed up against a door in the wall exhausted. It seemed it was hopeless.

But then he caught the faint scent of peaches and cream through the door he was leaning on and knew without a doubt Peach was behind it. But how to get inside? First, he remembered, he had to find the key to open the door. But where was the key? He had seen no key laying around while he was running from the Phanto. Unless he could have missed it somehow.

Just then he spotted the Phanto out of the corner of his eye as it was drifting up the stairs towards him. He had to think fast, there was no time to lose!

Then it suddenly occurred to him to just what he had been all along, to use his heart. He focused his heart symbol at the keyhole and instantly a red key with a heart shaped handle appeared in his hand. He put it the keyhole and turned it just as the Phanto had come up behind him and vanished.

The door opened with a loud creaking sound and Mario pushed it open with some effort and stepped inside the dark, dank room...

And there was Peach.


	7. Chapter 7

"Peach! I've found you at last!" Mario exclaimed happily.

He had expected Peach to run into his arms and smother him with kisses, instead she remained still, looking straight ahead blankly. He found this to be as strange as it was unusual. He stepped up to Peach and saw that her complexion was very pale and her eyes looked glassy and expressionless.

"Peach?" He waved his hand slowly in front of her glazed eyes.

She barely blinked as she stared at him and asked, "Who are you?"

Mario was just completely stunned. Then he remembered what the Care Bears had warned him about just before they set off. _No-Heart has her under a spell and when you find she might not recognize you... but if you love her as she loves you, you will reach through to her._

"I am Mario," he said. "I have come to rescue you."

"I don't need to be rescued," Peach replied coldly. "I am Lord No-Heart's slave and I belong here."

Mario was horror struck. It seemed No-Heart had really placed under a spell that made her lose her memory as well as all her sense of herself.

"Peach, don't you remember me and all the times I've rescued before from Bowser?" Mario said trying to get through.

"I don't know anybody named Mario... or Bowser," Peach replied idly.

"Peach, you must remember me!" Mario cried beseechingly. "Remember all the times we played on your castle grounds, me and you and Luigi and Toad and Yoshi. Remember all the dates we had together, picnics, parties, and nights under the moon and stars after watching the sunset. Remember I gave you this!" He held up her right hand and showed her the ring on her third finger. She only looked at a moment before swatting his hand away and turning away from him again.

Mario was now beginning to feel really desperate. He thought quickly for some way for Peach to remember him. "Peach, remember our first date when I took you for a moonlight serenade in a gondola on the river. I sang this to you, La la la, You are the Peach of my eye and I am your pit! La la la!"

Peach looked at him inquisitively now and blinked a few times, but showed no real sign that she understood or remembered anything.

Mario tried again, he knew he just couldn't give up. "Remember the night you invited me to your birthday ball and we encouraged Luigi to set himself up with Daisy, your cousin. We danced together like this."

He took her hand in his own and began to dance slowly around the cold and dark room in a graceful waltz like Italian style dance. Peach moved with him but her movements were slow and shallow and her heart didn't seem to be in it at all and she continued to stare and him in confusion and despair.

Mario stopped and looked deep into her sweet blue eyes with his own beginning to tear up as he was now beginning to feel a tiny bit of despair in his own heart.

"Peach!" he wailed miserably. "I love you! I've always loved you! From the moment I met you, and I realized I did and that you loved me too when you kissed me... like this." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

Peach blinked and then gasped as she brought her hand up to her face where he had kissed her. And then she looked at him with wide warmly lit eyes as a serene smile began to spread across her face.

"Mario?" she said. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me, my sweet Peach!" he exclaimed in tears of joy and relief.

"But where's Luigi?" asked Peach looking past his shoulder as if expecting to see him.

Mario's smile vanished and his eyes lowered to the ground as his head bowed and he sniffled as tears of renewed sorrow filled his eyes. "Luigi was stunned by a Glum Reaper on the way here," he replied.

"Oh dear! Oh I'm so sorry!" Peach exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him and cradled him in her arms tenderly.

Mario hugged her briefly as she rocked him in her arms and then he took a deep breath and cleared his throat as he said. "Come, we must leave at once before No-Heart finds us!"

Peach nodded agreement. "But how?" she asked.

Mario tried to think of some way out, but then suddenly a gentle light filled the room, like the rays of the sunshine and it filled him up with the warmth of caring for Peach and Luigi. He instantly realized what it must be coming from. He turned around towards the window and sure enough he saw the Care Bears hovering just outside in one of their cloudcars.

"Peach, may I introduce me new friends, the Care Bears! How did you fellows get here at just the right time?"

"We've been waiting out here all the time," replied Tender Heart. "We knew you'd rescue Peach and be able to break the spell. Now, hop in you two, we're off to CareALot!"

So Mario graciously took Peach's hand and helped her up into the backseat of the cloudcar before he sat down beside her.

They flew through the dark clouds for a while and then the clouds began to get lighter and lighter until they were the whitest, softest, fluffiest baby clouds ever seen. Then soon they entered into a beautiful kingdom nestled within these clouds filled with dome shaped cottages with hearts and stars dotting the place everywhere and in the center was a tall heart shaped building with a long rainbow pathway leading up to it.

"Welcome to CareALot!" said Tender Heart warmly. "Over there is the Hall of Hearts!"

"It's beautiful!" Peach exclaimed brightly as she observed their surroundings.

"It is more beautiful than I ever imagined it!" Mario sighed. "I just wish Luigi could see it," he sighed and looked down almost on the verge of tears again.

"But I can see it!" said a voice from behind him suddenly. "I've been here all the while!"

Mario's face lit up as he whirled around to face his brother whom he momentarily had thought was lost from him. "Luigi! You're okay!" he exclaimed as he embraced him tightly, feeling like a great weight had just been lifted off of his heart.

"Of course I'm okay," Luigi assured him. "I woke up here shortly after I arrived and Take Care Bear gave me this delicious liquid which revived me in body and spirit as she said it would."

"My dear brother, it would never be the same without you by my side!" Mario exclaimed wiping his eyes.

Peach then hugged Luigi and the Care Bears looked on smiling.

"Come to the Hall of Hearts, everyone!" exclaimed Tender Heart jubilantly. "We'll have a celebration feast... and a special ceremony for our two heroes."

So they all filed into the Hall of Hearts and after a hearty feast Mario and Luigi stood at the head of the room in between True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse who made a speech about their adventures which concluded with,

"I hereby dub thees Honorary Care Bear Cousins, and as such you will now have the free will to join and aid us on any future caring missions on Earth!"


End file.
